Are you getting the most from all those sets of task cards that you’ve bought (or made!)? Or do you tend to use a set for one lesson and then just stash it away in your handy task card organizer? You could be getting more out of your task cards! To start, as you accumulate […]
More in Category: Other Good Stuff
Three Favorite Types of Digital Resources
As kids spend more and more of their school time on computers or tablets, whether in the classroom or at home, teachers are looking for new and varied ways to make the best use of the technology. Depending on your technology situation (and on your kids!) the bests choices can be different from one […]
Four Ways to Use Digital Resources in the Classroom
Are you getting the full benefit out of all those new digital resources that you bought? Whether you’re using Teachers Pay Teachers Easel resources, Google slides, or another type of digital classroom resource, there may be still more that you can do with them! NOTE: The task card shown in the image above […]
No-Copy Foldables 3 – An Easy Cube
So, I’ve written before about various organizers that kids can make from just a sheet of printer paper (no copying needed), and about organizers that they can put together from sticky notes. Today, I thought I would add to my posts about no-copy foldables with this one about making a simple cube. These […]
Last Day for Savings on Classroom Resources
Just a reminder that TPT’s big Cyber Sale is coming to an end today! So in case you have items stashed in your shopping just waiting for the right moment – the time is now. (Or even if you just love browsing through teaching materials while they’re on sale!) As usual, everything at […]
Sticky Note Group Organizers
Isn’t it funny how something as simple as a pad of sticky notes can make a lesson more interesting? One minute it’s a struggle to get the kids interested in the topic at hand, and the next minute they’re alert and into the lesson. Why? Because they’ve spotted the sticky notes! Take a lesson […]
That’s Too Elementary! – Nine Ideas to Keep Language Arts Interesting for Middle Grade Kids
What do 4th graders, 5th graders, 6th graders, and 7th graders all have in common? As soon as their teacher announces the day’s lesson, they love to respond “We’ve done that before!” or “That’s boring!” or even “That’s too elementary!” In Language Arts in particular, we have to admit that there is SOME […]
What Do Teachers Really Want to Know about Their Kids at the Beginning of the School Year?
In those first few hectic days of a new school year what do you really want to find out about your kids? What will help you the most as you plan your lessons for the approaching days and weeks? In addition to the big stuff that you’ll find out from pretests and maybe […]
Task Cards – So Many Uses in the Language Arts Classroom
Task cards – language arts teachers love them, and so do students. You only have to copy them once and they’re ready to use over and over. And the best part is that there are so many different uses for task cards – from the variety of task card activities to the variety of […]
What Is Classroom in the Middle?
What is Classroom in the Middle? Classroom in the Middle is a blog and a store all about language arts resources for middle school and upper elementary. In the blog, you’ll find a big (and growing) collection of teaching ideas and activities, along with freebies that you can download at any time, for English teachers […]
Making Your Language Arts Classroom Their Language Arts Classroom
Kids love a classroom that’s personalized with photos of themselves and name banners, but in the Language Arts classroom, you can take it a step further and really uses those beginning of the year days to help kids make your classroom their own personal reading and writing space. As kids complete personal writings, […]
More No-Copy Foldables
To add to last-weeks post, here are a few more especially easy foldables that you can do without prep using only pain paper and sticky notes. Plain Paper Foldables These two foldables are super easy to make and require just one sheet of plain paper each. Four Corners Foldable – Start […]
No-Copy Foldables
Foldables are great, but sometimes they can get to be a bit much what with different ones to print and copy for every new lesson. Sometimes it’s just nice to have a simple, no fuss plan for the day. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up on foldables. Just switch to some […]
Response Cards May be Just the Ticket
You want all of your students engaged in the lesson – even when you don’t want a high-movement activity with lots of group interaction. So what do you do? For times like these, response cards may be just the ticket! There are many types of high response cards that can easily be incorporated […]
What They Really Really Want – Rewards for Middle Grade Kids
Sooner or later it happens. Your middle grade kids hit that age where they are no longer interested in the “prize box”. The girls decide that they’re watching their weight and no longer want candy. And sometimes you just need those little rewards to get your kids motivated in the right direction! What […]
Using Task Cards in Interactive Notebooks
Task cards don’t always need to be laminated and saved to use over and over for class activities. In fact, task have so many uses, and I keep finding more! Because of their small size, task cards are great to print for students to paste in their interactive notebooks as examples. You are […]
Using Task Cards for Whole Class, Small Group, and Individual Lessons
The more I read about task cards (and the more pins I save on my Task Cards Pinterest board), The more uses I find for them! Task cards can be used for whole class activities, small groups, and individual quiet work in a variety of ways. Here are some of them. Whole Class • Scoot, […]
Fun Research Presentations
Kids may have to do research to meet their grade level standards, but sometimes they are not required to use the results to write a research paper. If they don’t need to write a paper, what can you have your students do to present the information from all of those note cards? Here […]
Books for Buddies
To generate interest in selecting new books, or to introduce kids to your classroom library in the beginning of the year, try having each student choose books for a partner. Explain to the kids that, in order to choose interesting books for their partner, they will need to know something about their partner’s interests […]
FREE LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES
- Autumn Sampler
- The Van Gogh Cafe Menu Activity
- Reading Skills Freebie
- CRASH FREEBIE
- Back to School Story Elements Activities
- Winn Dixie Freebie
- Pronouns Color Code – Print and Easel Versions
- Vocabulary Skills Freebie
- Spring Mix
- Number the Stars Freebie
- Hollis Woods Freebie
- Winter Holidays Medley
- The Cay
- Affixes and Roots
- Winning the Vote
- Missing May Road Trip Journal
- Wringer freebie
- Imagery freebie
- Story Elements Bookmark
- Schooled
- walk two moons
- Imagery freebie
- Idioms – Flying Pigs
- Mrs Who’s Quotes
- I Have Prefix, Suffix, Roots
- Connotations Freebie
- I Have Who Has Flying Pigs
- Stepping on the Cracks Freebie
- Text Structures
- journey
- Peaceful Transition
- Context Clues Medley
- Bud Not Buddy
- Media Literacy Free Activities
- Connotations – Free Activities
- Imagery